MTA 75th Anniversary Collateral Materials

75th Logo

75th Letterhead

Print Advertisements

Before the Auburn and Lewiston Turnpike Exits opened in December of 1955, H.W. Hinman, Inc. of North Anson took charge of building the Androscoggin River Bridge.

All our best for the Great Falls Balloon Festival. We’ve both been flying over the Androscoggin for decades.To see what we’ve been up to for 75 years, visit maineturnpike75.com.

Thank you,Lewiston/Auburn,forbeing atruehighpointinTurnpikehistory.

WHEN IT COMESTO MOVING MAINE’S ECONOMY FORWARD, DANA ALWAYS CAME SHOVEL-READY.

Whenever Maine needed smart answers, time and time again, people leaned on Dana. He has long been a champion for the state’s economy and the lives and livelihood of Maine people. And an ardent advocate of the Maine Turnpike’s evolution as well. Maine could not ask for a better friend. We wish him the very best wherever the road may take him.

1947-2022

Maine Public Ad

Website Homepage Banner

Service Plaza Banner

Press Release on the 75th Website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 3, 2022

Contact: Maine Turnpike Authority Erin Courtney, Public Outreach (207) 513-2982

ecourtney@maineturnpike.com

Maine Turnpike Reflects on its 75-year History in 2022

An anniversary website tells the history of the turnpike and pays homage the venerable toll road

PORTLAND - Celebrating its 75th year as Maine and New England’s first and the nation’s second superhighway, Maine Turnpike recently unveiled a special addition to its website Maineturnpike75.com presents the history and the economic impact of Maine’s most heavily traveled roadway together with a number of videotaped inside perspectives from the people who keep the Turnpike running smoothly.

The Maine Turnpike welcomed its first travelers in 1947 and today is squarely in its seventy-fifth year. It will officially hit the third quarter-century mark on December 13. Milestones such as this have traditionally called for publicizing the achievement in print ads and brochures. But given the advanced technology that plays a daily role in the superhighway realm, the decision to share the Turnpike’s dramatic story in the digital medium came very easily

“This website takes the viewer through history, from the creation of the Turnpike to thoughts of what the future might hold (think flying cars) with captivating archival film and photography, and a gallery of dozens of images from the Turnpike’s extensive archives.” Described Erin Courtney, MTA’s Public Outreach Manager. The “In Our Own Words” section gives the perspectives of Turnpike employees from executive director to long time toll collectors to plow drivers. It really highlights how people are the backbone of the turnpike.

“Our digital presentation also touches on the impact that the highway has had on shaping Maine’s history,” Courtney continued. “Many Maine brands are much older, but few have had the widespread impact that the Maine Turnpike has had on the state’s economic health, and in the many ways it has provided incremental changes in the quality of life enjoyed by the vast majority of Mainers ”

Included in the story of the Turnpike are milestones like the spark that resulted in the formation of Maine Turnpike Authority, the story of why the tolls were kept and MaineDOT did not take over the road, and why and how the road was widened in the late 1990’s. There is also a timeline that travels nearly eight decades of Maine and transportation history with a lot of trivia and fun facts

And clearly, the people who have worked for the Maine Turnpike over the decades are a major thread of the story.

“From the beginning of the project, we wanted to focus on the thousands of people who have been involved in developing and building the Maine Turnpike and keeping it running safely and efficiently now for generations,” Courtney added. “There are so many human stories associated with this one roadway, there is no shortage of tales to tell.”

Maine Turnpike Authority’s Executive Director Peter Mills said, “The people who have been involved with the Turnpike have shaped it, maintained it, improved it, built and rebuilt it, and rebuilt it again all of it paid for by the millions of people who pay the tolls, two thirds of whom are from out-of-state.”

“It’s important to realize that caring for this highway its safety and reliability means anticipating the repairs and improvements that are coming and being ready to manage those responsibilities and be financially prepared to pay for them. When you think of how many people over the years have done the due diligence to stay on top of that challenge, it’s amazing,” said Mills.

Now in its seventy-fifth year, Maine Turnpike Authority takes an online look back on its history and its contribution to the state and shares those reflections in a technological way few could imagine back in 1947. # # #

Invitation to Media

The Maine Turnpike to Celebrate 75 Years of Service to Maine

True milestones make engaging and meaningful stories for your audience. The Maine Turnpike’s 75th birthday is uniquely newsworthy. It has something for everyone from its historical importance to its impact on business and Maine’s quality of life. Who doesn’t have a memory of traveling the Turnpike with friends and family? For generations of Mainers, it’s the way adventures begin, and it’s the way home.

The Turnpike opened on December 13, 1947, and it immediately grabbed its place in history. It was the nation’s second superhighway—the very first in New England. It was the world’s very first“high-speed, limited-access expressway”paved entirely with asphalt, a bold innovation in its day.

The state’s first true thoroughfare and the key to relieving Route One’s horrendous traffic, the Maine Turnpike invigorated the state’s economic health, made commerce and shipping more efficient, and family trips to Vacationland more accessible and affordable for a growing middle-class.

Clearly, this has the makings of a great story!And we’ll provide everything you need.

• Multiple themes: the whole history, tourism, commerce, commuting, etc.

• Dozens of archival and recent photographs and video clips

• Videotaped interviews—for quotes from Turnpike officials and employees

• Full website with documentary videos for reference—scripts available

• A sneak preview of our 36-page Maine Turnpike 75th Year brochure filled with additional ideas, photos, graphics—a story-building menu

• Direct access to the public liaison team at Maine Turnpike Authority for on-air presentations, questions, and follow-up

For more on this big moment in Maine history and to request a digital copy of our 75th Year brochure, please contact:

Erin Courtney Public Outreach Manager / LegislativeLiaison

ecourtney@maineturnpike.com 207-482-8119

Press Release December 2022

FOR DECEMBER 9, 2022 RELEASE

CONTACT: Erin Courtney Public Outreach Manager

207-482-8119

Maine Turnpike Arrives at the Seventy-five Year Mark This December

Back in December of 1947, Maine had more cows than people, had yet to have a television station, and you could buy a new Plymouth Deluxe-Six Business Coupe for $1,139 or a new Crosby for $888.

At the brand-new Maine Turnpike, travelers could, at last, avoid the at-times horrendous Route One traffic and breeze non-stop from Kittery to Portland. Around the clock, toll collectors handed a cardstock ticket to every entering driver, and collected the toll at each exit

Turn the clock 75 years ahead and you arrive on today’s Maine Turnpike in an era where cell phone technology connects drivers instantly to weather information, GPS maps, and voiced directions to any destination, while E-ZPass drivers pay their tolls in nanoseconds, cruising non-stop through overhead gantries that process a million such transactions each week.

Now in its seventy-fifth year, Maine Turnpike Authority looks back on its history and its contribution to the state and shares those reflections in a way few could imagine in those days before television and cell phones.

A special Maine Turnpike Authority website, maineturnpike75.com, anchors the 75th year recognition as the highway looks to December 13, when it will have reached its full 75 years of age.

It has been an exciting ride since the very beginning. When the Turnpike welcomed its first drivers, it was setting national standards from the get-go. It was second only to the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the new superhighway category which embraced the idea of arrow-straight, high-speed lanes with a limited number of exits and entrances at key points along the way. The Turnpike was New England’s very first superhighway and, with a posted speed limit of 60 miles per hour, it was dubbed Maine’s first “Mile-A-

Minute” highway. It was also the first major highway in the world to be constructed with asphalt, a material that Maine pioneered and would become the high-speed roadway material of choice for states with extremes in summer and winter temperatures and precipitation of all varieties.

Erin Courtney, public outreach manger said, “There have been so many milestones and so many stories of growth and technological advancements on the Maine Turnpike, we wanted this very important anniversary to focus on the thousands, literally thousands of people who have been involved in developing and building the Maine Turnpike and keeping it running safely and efficiently now for generations. There are so many human stories associated with this one roadway, there has been no shortage of tales to tell.”

Peter Mills, the Authority’s executive director also remarked, “The people who have been involved with the Turnpike have shaped it, maintained it, improved it, built and rebuilt it, and rebuilt it again. It’s so important to remember that caring for this road and the millions who travel it, means anticipating when the parts will wear out, when the stretches of roadway will require repaving, and when bridges, which we also care for, will have reached their sell-by date and need to be replaced. We are always planning 30 years ahead to manage those changes and to be financially prepared to pay for them. Think of how many people over just the past 30 years have had to exert the due diligence to stay on top of this challenge. It’s amazing.”

Worth noting, the Maine Turnpike has sustained itself financially from the very beginning. Financed through bonds that are repaid entirely through the tolls collected from Turnpike drivers, the historic roadway has never taken a cent in local, state, or federal money. And yet, practically all of the goods and products that are trucked into Maine are carried on the Turnpike. Even if you never take the Maine Turnpike, its benefit to all of Maine is unquestionable.

# # #